


Keys to the Heart

by emsmittens



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College Student Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Good Derek Hale, M/M, Oblivious Stiles Stilinski, One Shot, Werewolf Courting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27531976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emsmittens/pseuds/emsmittens
Summary: Stiles Stilinski, sophomore of Beacon Hills College and a member of a decent-sized werewolf pack, had many things he needed to worry about. Not once did he think that he would have to deal with Peter Hale, of all people, giving him gifts! What's the catch?AKA: The five objects it took to get into Stiles' heart and the one object it took to get into Peter's.
Relationships: Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 9
Kudos: 589





	Keys to the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to get back into the groove of writing! As always, please let me know what you think.
> 
> Be safe out there :)

It was a normal Monday for college student Stiles Stilinski. He woke up, hastily got ready and packed his backpack, managed to have time to swing by his favorite coffee shop, and even made it to all of his lectures on time. What wasn’t normal was the fact that Peter Hale, his pack-mate with major creepy uncle vibes, was leaning against the driver’s door of his Jeep after Stiles finished his last class of the day.

“Can I help you, zombie-wolf,” Stiles asked as he threw his bag through the open window and into the already cluttered backseat. 

Peter gave Stiles a blinding smile. “Hello to you too.”

Stiles, tired from back to back lectures, didn’t even try to come up with a witty response. Talking to Peter was like talking to a brick wall, especially when he had his mindset on something. Instead, he just gave the werewolf a pointed look, urging him to speak.

Peter leaned off of the vehicle and rummaged through the inside pocket of his leather jacket. Without a word, he handed Stiles a thin tan envelope. 

Puzzled, Stiles took the object and opened it, hoping silently that this wasn’t the way that Peter chose to murder him. He had so much to live for, like curly fries and Star Wars. When it was completely unwrapped, Stiles almost dropped it. The bright colors and drawings of the game sleeve were all that he needed to know. It was the super rare game that Stiles has been searching for at least the past ten years.

He looked back up to thank Peter, but he was nowhere to be found. Weird.

**

Tuesdays were days that Stiles didn’t have class. Normally, he would lay around his shared apartment with Scott and try to study (or maybe even play that new game). Today, however, was a date day for Scott and Kira. No way he wanted to be around that, he thought as he settled in at the library. 

He played with his mousepad, deep in thought. His run-in with Peter yesterday was strange, to say the least. Well, everything was strange when it came to the older werewolf. He’s changed from a psychopath alpha to the almost helpful uncle to the pack. Stiles gritted his teeth. Was this all a long con to kill them all? The next time he was alone with his alpha, Derek, Stiles was going to pick his brain about his uncle.

Stiles shook his head to clear his thoughts so he could actually start doing his tasks for the day. Clicking on the home screen of his college’s courses page, he groaned. The spinning wheel of death was back again today. Turns out his laptop that barely made it through high school wasn’t going to make it through college either. 

Clunk.

The human flinched at the sudden noise, almost falling out of the chair. Speak of the devil. He glared up at Peter, who was smiling down at Stiles as if he didn’t disturb the entire college campus with his ruckus. If Stiles wasn’t in the now quiet library, he would have told him off.

Instead, he noticed Peter had his hands on a medium-sized cardboard box that was sitting on the other end of the wooden study table. So that was the noise. Stiles raised an eyebrow at the object, not bothering to properly greet the other man.

Peter remained silent as well and turned the package so that Stiles could read the front of it. It was a new laptop. A new laptop that Stiles knew well that it cost more than a thousand dollars. 

Picking up his drop jaw, Stiles whispered, “Why?”

“Yours is falling apart. You can't expect to do well in your studies if you can’t even load up the home screen.”

Stiles glanced back to his own laptop, which was still spinning on the homepage as Peter said. And, before Stiles could stop him, Peter was already making his way to the exit, throwing back a wave of departure. 

**

Out of all of the days in the week, Stiles hated Wednesday the most. It was his longest day, with his hardest lectures non-stop from 9 AM to 5 PM. It was days like this one when he wished he spaced out his schedule more.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some, Stiles thought as he closed the door to his bedroom and turned on his desk lamp, trying to find the will to write his essay. However, his desk space was taken over by a large, old book. Knowing for a fact that he wasn’t the one to put it there, Stiles hesitantly peered closer to read the worn-out title. 

“Born werewolves of the pacific coast,” he whispered the cursive words to himself. He’s heard of it before but couldn’t quite place it. It was a problem for another time though, as his paper was due in a few measly hours.

That night, after finishing and submitting his essay, Stiles couldn’t get to sleep. Where did he hear about that rare tome before? His thoughts drifted to other mysteries of the week, like Peter randomly offering him gifts. Wait. Peter.

Stiles shot up in bed. Of course, the answer had to do with Peter. Once, when dealing with another werewolf pack, Peter mentioned that such a thing existed, but most of them were destroyed as a way to limit the amount of information available to hunters. He must have spent a fortune to obtain it, way more than the laptop that was sitting in his school bag.

With this connection made, Stiles had no doubt in his mind that Peter broke into his apartment and placed it on his desk. If he wasn’t so eager to read the book, Stiles would have been furious. Well, he thought to himself, that’s one mystery solved.

**

The next morning, Stiles had a plan. If Peter were to offer him another gift today, he was going to politely refuse and attempt to get some answers out of him. That’s the only plan of action that makes sense. He told himself this over and over again while heating up leftover pizza for breakfast and reviewing notes for an exam that afternoon.

What he wasn’t expecting was to literally run into Peter as he left his apartment and closed the door behind him.

Peter didn’t budge from the close contact and grinned, far too cheerful for how early it was. From this close, Stiles could make out the soft smiling lines around Peter’s eyes and the random gray hairs at his temple. The man was truly aging gracefully, Stiles thought to himself. But he would never let Peter know that. 

“Good morning, Stiles,” he said nonchalantly as if he wasn’t taking up all of Stiles’ attention lately. “I have another object for you.”

Stiles opened his mouth in protest but clammed up when Peter shushed him and handed him a small, clear vial. Stiles would know the contents of it anywhere. A beautiful pure wolfsbane flower, sitting there innocently as if it couldn’t kill one of the two men in front of it.

“W-why,” was all Stiles could stutter out. 

Shrugging as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Peter said, “because I want you to know that I trust you.” When he turned and walked away, Stiles didn’t bother to stop him.

Trust?

** 

By Friday, Stiles thought for sure that he was going crazy. In fact, he hasn’t even mentioned the gifts, let alone Peter to any of his pack-mates. And it would seem that Peter was keeping it a secret as well. 

He spent his free morning in the empty apartment, staring at the different objects Peter gave him on his bed. From what Stiles could tell, there were no connections between the four. Especially not the niche video game.

Stiles gnawed at his dry lips in concentration. Will he get another gift today? How many gifts are there to go? Stiles felt himself spiraling and tried to steady his breath. Deciding that a long drive would help him think, he reached for his car keys. He paused, something was different.

If it wasn’t all black, he would have never noticed the newest addition. Automatically, he knew that Peter put them there and that they matched the man’s own set to the front door of his apartment. 

That’s what made Stiles break. He gritted his teeth and snatched the keys up. After slamming the front door he already made up his mind where he was going. 

**

Stiles loudly banged on the metal door to Derek’s loft, knowing that the alpha werewolf would be home. He was always home on Fridays, preparing for the weekly pack meeting that night. A vague, grumpy yell from somewhere beyond the door stopped Stiles’ frantic knocking.

The door unlocked with a loud click and opened. Derek still donned in his sweatpants, scowled aimed at the pack’s only human. It somehow wasn’t as intimidating with his hair still wild from sleep.

Having no sense of self-preservation, Stiles ignored the annoyed alpha and pushed his way past him and into the living room. Without letting Derek have the first word, he threw his hands up in exasperation. “I think I’m going crazy.”

“What else is new?” Derek mumbled as he closed the door and faced Stiles. His scowl turned into a concerned look. “Is the nogitsune back?” 

Stiles sighed and shook his head as he sunk down into the corner of the leather L-shaped couch. The question of concern coming from his alpha made him calm down slightly. After the nogitsune, he could face anything. The pack could face anything. 

A man of few words, Derek sat down next to Stiles and offered him a comforting look paired with a gentle touch of his arm. The action reminded Stiles of the cold months after the nogitsune when the whole pack was either shunning him or walking on eggshells around him. Derek was the only one to truly comfort Stiles. Eventually, the rest of the pack came around and things returned to normal. Still, Stiles considered Derek one of his best friends, sometimes even more than Scott.

Stiles cleared his throat, still struggling to find the words to explain the situation to Derek. “It’s your uncle,” he finally responded, trying to think how to best approach the subject without the alpha immediately assuming the worst and taking off to fight Peter without even hearing the whole story.

“Peter?” Derek asked, his bushy eyebrows knitted in confusion. 

Focusing on his own shaking hands to concentrate on using the right words, Stiles continued. “Well, it started on Monday.” Feeling his alpha tense up, he quickly added, “It’s nothing bad! He’s just been giving me these weird objects as gifts.”

“One gift a day, for five days?” Derek interjected before Stiles could continue with his explanation of the last few days.

Startled, Stiles looked back over to his friend. “Yeah. How did you know?”

Derek removed his comforting hand in order to facepalm. 

If it wasn’t concerning, Stiles would have laughed his ass off at the scene in front of him. In all of his years knowing Derek, he has never once facepalmed. He almost wanted to reach for his phone to take a picture, only stopping when Derek mumbled from his position.

“What was that, sour-wolf? I didn’t quite catch that,” Stiles grinned, suddenly in a better mood and teasing the other man. “You’re going to have to speak up.”

Derek moved his hand back down towards his lap with a glare as he repeated himself. “I think Peter is going through the motions of-” He paused, eye twitching like it was almost painful for him to finish his thought. “Of werewolf courting you.”

“Werewolf courting?” Stiles whispered, confused. “What is...” He didn’t need to finish asking Derek the question, he already knew the answer. Like a screenshot from his laptop, he remembered the exact short paragraph from a novel he borrowed from Peter about werewolf relations:

‘While most younger and bitten werewolves are very informal in their romances, born wolves, especially older ones, will follow the old courting rules to gain the attention of their chosen were’ partner. This event is only five days long. During those five days, the werewolf will present five objects to the potential partner. They must be given in this order as follows: object of pleasure, object of convenience, object of fortune, object of trust, and object of commitment.’

Realization washed over Stiles like an ocean wave, harsh but calming. He pondered on the gifts, noting how each one was the correct object that was written in the novel. Stiles turned back towards Derek, who was looking more and more ill as each second passed. “I thought that werewolf courting was between two werewolves,” he commented.

“No, not if it’s between two pack-mates. My mother’s pack even had two humans that completed the courting and ended up getting married.”

Stiles hummed, thankful for the answer. It wasn’t very often you could get any of the remaining Hales to talk about the pack members that perished in the fire. Wait. Stiles froze as he picked up on Derek’s wording. It seems like the novel didn’t mention all of the parts to this complex tradition. “How is the courting completed, Derek?”

Derek raised an eyebrow, seeming to be shocked that Stiles wanted to know more information. The alpha just looked at Stiles for a few seconds before finally answering with, “Either you publicly deny him or you privately accept him by giving him an object.” 

Jaw clenching in frustration of the simple answers, Stiles slowly and pointedly asked, “Well, what’s the gift that I give him to accept the courting?”

“It can be anything really,” Derek said with a constipated look on his face, not meeting Stiles’ eyes. "But, he continued, "typically it is an object of commitment.”

Stiles nodded, ideas swirling around his mind. “The last question, I promise,” he said, letting out a nervous chuckle. “So if I give him the object, are we like werewolf married?”

Derek huffed at the question and Stiles could have sworn he saw a twitch of a smile. “No. It just means you’re open to the possibility of dating him.” The silence between them that was usually calming now sat heavy in the air. “Don’t tell me you’re going to-” Derek cut himself off and Stiles didn’t bother to respond. They both knew what the answer was. 

“Thank you, Derek. Seriously. I would be lost without you,” Stiles said as he checked the time on his phone, only partially into the afternoon. His afternoon classes could wait.

**

Deep in his own head, Stiles barely registered that he was already parked in the lot of Peter’s apartment complex in the rich area of Beacon Hills. The drive was spent thinking about the years he has known Peter, coupled with the newly-discovered idea that he has a thing for Stiles. 

Stiles definitely found the older werewolf attractive. That part didn’t bother him; he was a proud bisexual. And have you seen the man? Peter was handsome and he wasn’t humble about it either. 

Since Peter was taking the time, money, and effort to court Stiles then the attraction must be mutual. Looking back at Peter’s flirty jokes and soft touches, Stiles wondered how he was ever going to become a detective. It was so obvious and right under his nose. Even after the nogitsune, Peter was in the group of packmates that walked on eggshells around Stiles. The direct and coy Peter Hale wouldn’t show that type of regard for anyone else.

However, Stiles was well aware that sexual attraction and romantic attraction were two different beasts. What if Peter was just using this as a way to get into his pants? Stiles quickly shook his head at himself. Peter was very popular with many different people around Beacon Hills and would have no problems getting laid. 

Fine, so Peter was interested in him, Stiles thought. But why go through the leaps and bounds of a traditional courting? Especially when he hates being publicly humiliated. The werewolf also took a big gamble on whether or not Stiles would remember one small paragraph from a large novel he read well over a year ago. Stiles bit his bottom lip in thought, already feeling a bump growing there from the abuse over the last several days. Only Peter would know the answers to all of his questions.

Realizing he has been sitting alone in the parking lot for the last twenty minutes, Stiles decided to put on his big boy pants and actually do something. After pocketing Peter’s gift, the human remembered that he was here to see a werewolf. A creature with supernatural powers that have definitely heard the Jeep’s unique engine rumble the entire time. As he jumped out of the car, he wondered when his life switched from a poorly written horror movie to an equally poorly written rom-com. 

**

Stiles banged on his second front door of the day. He still had no idea how to properly complete the werewolf courtship. Luckily, he didn’t have to knock long before the door inwardly swung open. Peter stood there in the entranceway with broad arms crossed over his equally broad chest and a schooled face.

Too nervous to even begin to form words, Stiles dug into his jean pockets and threw the small object he found in them at Peter.

Peter caught it with ease. He examined it calmly, rotating it through his fingers. “A key?” he asked with a slight smirk. “A key to what?”

“It’s a key to my apartment. So you can stop breaking in, creeper-wolf,” Stiles answered with his usual snark reserved for Peter. Seeing the older werewolf’s calm face break into a smile was all that Stiles needed for his nervousness to go away.

Peter, now completely grinning, placed the key onto the table next to him. Before Stiles could react, Peter pulled Stiles against him and into a tight hug. “I didn’t think you would say yes,” he whispered into Stiles’ ear.

“Well, believe it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on my Teen Wolf shipping [Tumblr](https://stilesshipper.tumblr.com/)


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